James Buck

Wounded at the Wheel—He Steered Through the Fire

James Buck was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1808. Long before the American Civil War transformed the United States, he began a career at sea that would eventually place him aboard one of the Union Navy’s major warships during a decisive campaign on the Mississippi River. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1852 and, by the spring of 1862, was serving as a quartermaster aboard the screw sloop-of-war U.S.S. Brooklyn.

In 1862, Union naval strategy focused heavily on the Mississippi River and the capture of New Orleans, the Confederacy’s largest city and one of its most important commercial centers. Flag Officer David G. Farragut assembled a powerful naval force below New Orleans, but the river approach was guarded by Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip. The two Confederate fortifications, supported by additional defenses and vessels, stood between Farragut’s squadron and the city.

After days of bombardment failed to force the forts into submission, Farragut prepared his warships to run directly past them. U.S.S. Brooklyn formed part of the division that also included Farragut’s flagship Hartford and Richmond. In the early hours of April 24, 1862, the Union fleet began its dangerous passage upriver through darkness, gunfire, obstructions, Confederate vessels, and the concentrated artillery of the forts.

James Buck was stationed at Brooklyn’s wheel.

As the ship fought its way through the engagement, Buck was struck and severely wounded by a heavy splinter. The injury was serious, yet he remained at his station. The contemporary Navy account of his conduct described him as continuing at the wheel for approximately seven hours despite the wound and refusing to leave until he was positively ordered below.

Brooklyn itself endured a violent passage. Confederate fire struck the ship repeatedly as she came within range of the forts. During the fighting, the Confederate ironclad ram Manassas also struck Brooklyn, damaging her hull. Through the confusion and danger, controlling the ship remained vital, and Buck continued performing the duty that kept him at the center of the vessel’s movement.

Only a direct order finally forced him away from his station.

His determination did not end there. On the following morning, despite his condition, Buck returned to the wheel without authorization and resumed steering the ship. The Navy’s original Medal of Honor account states that he remained at his station for more than eight hours after returning. His actions covered both April 24 and 25, as Farragut’s force broke through the Confederate defenses and moved toward New Orleans.

The naval breakthrough carried enormous strategic consequences. After passing Forts Jackson and St. Philip, Farragut’s ships continued upriver. By the afternoon of April 25, the Union squadron had reached New Orleans. With the Confederate defenses below the city bypassed and organized resistance within New Orleans collapsing, the capture of the city became inevitable. The forts themselves surrendered several days later.

Buck’s role in that campaign was intensely personal. He was not commanding the fleet or directing its strategy; he was performing the essential work of a Navy quartermaster at the wheel of a warship under fire. His distinction came from continuing that responsibility after suffering a severe wound and then returning to his station when his physical condition had already forced his removal from duty.

His courage was formally recognized the following year. General Order No. 11, dated April 3, 1863, awarded James Buck the Medal of Honor for his service aboard U.S.S. Brooklyn during the attack on Forts Jackson and St. Philip and the taking of New Orleans. The Medal of Honor had been established only recently, during the Civil War, and Buck became one of the Union sailors whose actions in combat helped define the early history of the nation’s highest military decoration.

The official account emphasized the circumstances that made his conduct exceptional: he had been painfully wounded, remained at the wheel for hours, left only when positively ordered to do so, and then returned the following morning to steer the ship for more than eight additional hours. His recognition rested not on a single dramatic instant but on sustained determination while wounded during one of the most important naval operations of the Civil War.

Buck’s Navy career continued after the action. He was promoted to Acting Master’s Mate, the highest verified rank of his service. A Navy officer listing from 1865 still records him in that rank, demonstrating that his military career continued well beyond the battle for which he received the Medal of Honor.

James Buck did not live long after the Civil War. He died in his native Baltimore on November 1, 1865, only months after the conflict had ended. He was buried in Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.

His name nevertheless continued within the traditions of the United States Navy. Later American naval vessels were named Buck in his honor, carrying forward the memory of the sailor who had remained at Brooklyn’s wheel while wounded during Farragut’s drive past the Mississippi forts.

Buck’s legacy comes from a simple but extraordinary record of duty under fire. On April 24 and 25, 1862, wounded during the battle for the approaches to New Orleans, he refused to abandon his responsibilities until ordered away—and then returned to them the next morning. The Medal of Honor preserved that act of endurance and courage, ensuring that the quartermaster at the wheel of U.S.S. Brooklyn would remain part of the history of the Union Navy and the Civil War.